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Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate (born Jeffrey Wayne Tate, January 14, 1959; he later changed his first name to Geoffery or Geoffrey) (Pp. 11, 48). is a German-born American singer and musician. He rose to fame with the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, who had commercial success with their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime and 1990 album Empire. Tate is ranked fourteenth on Hit Parader s list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists of All Time. He was voted No. 2 on That Metal Show's top 5 hard rock vocalists of the 1980s. In 2012, he won the Vegas Rocks! Magazine Music Award for "Voice in Progressive Heavy Metal". In 2015, he placed ninth on OC Weekly's list of the 10 Best High-Pitched Metal Singers. After his farewell tour as Queensrÿche, he renamed his band Operation: Mindcrime, after the Queensrÿche album of the same name. The Key|website=Operation: Mindcrime The Key|access-date=2016-05-16}} Early years Tate was born in Stuttgart, which was then part of West Germany, to German American parents. His mother's side of the family is from New Orleans. Shortly after his birth, his family relocated to Tacoma, Washington. Career Queensrÿche (1982–2012) While Tate was in the band Babylon, he was asked to sing with the cover band The Mob (who would later start writing original material and become Queensrÿche) at a local rock festival.Miller, Brett. "Before the Storm - The Early Days of Queensrÿche". www.queensrychehistory.com. Retrieved April 24, 2006. After Babylon broke up, Tate performed a few shows with The Mob, but left because he was not interested in performing heavy metal cover songs. Tate then joined the progressive metal band Myth as lead vocalist and keyboardist. Other band members of Myth included Kelly Gray, who was later one of the replacements for Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo, and Randy Gane, both of whom joined Tate's version of Queensrÿche in 2012. The Mob again called on Tate in 1981, this time to record a demo tape, which he accepted, convincing his bandmates in Myth that getting professional recording experience would benefit all of them in the future. The band already had a set of songs, but one song was still left without lyrics. Tate was asked to write lyrics to this song, which would become the song "The Lady Wore Black", Tate's first penned song with the band. The demo tape was widely circulated, and was released as an EP in 1982 on the 206 Records label. Around this time, the name The Mob was changed to Queensrÿche, and Tate left Myth to become Queensrÿche's permanent lead singer. Myth went on to record the album Arabia after Tate had left. Queensrÿche was signed to EMI in the summer of 1983, with a contract spanning 15 years and encompassing seven albums. EMI re-released the EP, Queensrÿche, to moderate success, peaking at No. 81 on the Billboard charts. With Queensrÿche, Tate had great successes, especially with the concept album Operation: Mindcrime, which was released in 1988, and 1990's Empire. The band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. On June 20, 2012, it was announced that Queensrÿche had fired Tate, replacing him with Crimson Glory vocalist Todd La Torre. Soon after, Tate and his wife Susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005–2012) filed a lawsuit in a Washington court, saying that he was wrongfully terminated from the group. They also filed a preliminary injunction in an attempt to prevent either side from using the band's name and likeness until the lawsuit was settled, but this was denied by a judge who decided that both parties can use the name Queensrÿche until a settlement or a court verdict determines who gets the name. It was revealed to the public on April 28, 2014 that Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson were given the exclusive rights to the Queensrÿche trademark and that Tate received the rights to Operation: Mindcrime. Queensrÿche Featuring Geoff Tate (2012–2014) Following his firing and while awaiting the outcome of a settlement or court ruling deciding who would ultimately gain access to the name Queensrÿche, Tate announced his own lineup using the name "Queensrÿche" on September 1, 2012 via his official Facebook page.New Lineup. Queensrÿche (2012-09-01). Retrieved on 2012-09-16. Until Tate lost the brand Queensrÿche in April 2014 to the other band members, they were promoted by their booking agent under the name "Queensrÿche Starring Geoff Tate the Original Voice". The lineup would originally feature Rudy Sarzo, Bobby Blotzer, Glen Drover,Glen Drover Quits Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche. Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved on 2012-11-26. and two of his former band mates from the band Myth; Kelly Gray and Randy Gane.New Lineup. Queensryche (2012-09-01). Retrieved on 2012-09-16. Drover left the band on November 23, 2012. On January 25, 2013, his replacement was announced to be guitarist Robert Sarzo, while Blotzer was also replaced on drums by Simon Wright, who has remained since. The band embarked on an "Operation: Mindcrime Anniversary Tour" on April 6, 2013, celebrating the album's 25th anniversary.Geoff Tate: Heading to the Future with a New Queensrÿche. Entertaim.net. Retrieved on 2012-11-26. predominantly touring the American Southwest. The tour continued through to September 2014 with several breaks, among others with Tate touring with his solo band in May 2014. As part of the settlement agreement, Tate was granted the exclusive rights to perform Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II in their entirety as a unique performance, but not under the name Queensrÿche. Tate, however, presumably does not perceive his current project to be a similar band setting as the one he used to have with Queensrÿche before the 2012 split, saying: "I don't ever want to be in a band again. A 'band'-band that sticks together through thick and thin and all that, you know. I've already done that. I want to work with different groups of people. And I want to constantly be changing it up to make it interesting and different. And I want to play with as many great players as I possibly can." With this lineup, Tate released the album Frequency Unknown on April 23 via through Deadline Music, a sub-label of Cleopatra Records. It was co-written, produced and mixed in 6 weeks by Jason Slater and mastered by Maor Appelbaum, but Billy Sherwood was later hired to remix the album, "it seems there are sonic issues with the previous versions". Several days later, however, Sherwood pulled out of the project, citing scheduling issues. The work was subsequently spread out over at least four remixers, because of the deadline that had to be met. "Cold", the first single off Frequency Unknown was released on April 3, 2013. Operation: Mindcrime (2014-present) Following his farewell tour as Queensryche, Tate renamed his band to Operation: Mindcrime after the Queensryche album of the same name. In 2015, John Moyer, Brian Tichy, and Scott Moughton became full-time members following the departures of Rudy Sarzo and Robert Sarzo. Their debut album, named The Key, which is part one of a three part trilogy, was released on September 18, 2015. Solo work In 1985, Tate participated in the famine relief collaboration Hear 'n Aid. In 2002, Tate released an eponymous solo album on Sanctuary Records. Around this time, he had shaven his long hair, in solidarity with a close family member who was battling cancer until her death. On November 6, 2012, Tate released his second solo record on InsideOut Music, entitled Kings and Thieves Personal life Tate's first wife was named Sandy. Tate was married to Sue (Suzanne) from 1990 until 1996. She inspired the lyrics to "Jet City Woman."http://ink19.com/issues/january2002/eventReviews/queensrChe.html In 1996, he married his current wife, Susan. Tate has four daughters: Sabra, Miranda, Bella, and Emily. Tate was never married to Sabra's mother. In 2011, Miranda gave Geoff his first grandchild, giving birth to Riot Danger. Tate is known for involving family members with his musical endeavors. His wife Susan worked for Queensrÿche's fan club since 1997, served as the band's assistant manager since 2001, and as band manager from 2005-2012. She is also the manager for Tate's solo career. Stepdaughter Miranda has also run Queensrÿche's fanclub. Guitarist Parker Lundgren joined the band of Tate's solo project in the summer of 2008, while dating Miranda. In February 2009 he joined Queensrÿche, and on 18 July married Miranda, but they divorced about half a year later. Late 2009 and early 2010, Miranda was a go-go dancer with the Queensrÿche Cabaret. Daughter Emily sang a duet with her father on the song "Home Again" on the 2009 Queensrÿche album American Soldier and the ensuing tour, at age 12. In 2013, Miranda and Emily sang backing vocals on a re-recording of "Silent Lucidity" for the album Frequency Unknown. Discography Queensrÿche * Queensrÿche (1983) * The Warning (1984) * Rage for Order (1986) * Operation: Mindcrime (1988) * Empire (1990) * Promised Land (1994) * Hear in the Now Frontier (1997) * Q2K (1999) * Tribe (2003) * Operation: Mindcrime II (2006) * Take Cover (2007) * American Soldier (2009) * Dedicated to Chaos (2011) * Frequency Unknown (2013) Solo *''Geoff Tate'' (2002) *''Kings & Thieves'' (2012) Operation: Mindcrime *''The Key'' (2015) *''Resurrection'' (2016) References Category:Vocalist Category:American vocalists